Most of the advances in the processing of fermented beverages have occurred at the industrial level, directed to large scale operations and large containers of the product. These advances are for the most part inapplicable to home brewing endeavors due to substantially different scales of operation. Consequently, advances in the art/science of home brewing have not been as extensive as those applied to the industrial production of fermented beverages. As a result, efficient devices for the processes necessary for home brewing of fermented beverages are often not available or are substantially lacking in effectiveness.
The brewing of fermented beverages involves the preparation and fermentation of a sweet liquor. This liquor is normally fermented utilizing the biological activity of yeast on a batch of the liquor in a vessel. The first process is known as primary fermentation. This is a process that is well known and has been subjected to extensive refinement, especially in industrial-sized operations.
When carrying out the brewing of beer or similar liquors in a non-industrial (or home) environment, after the primary fermentation process is complete, the fermented liquor is decanted into bottles of various sizes and shapes. These are selected based upon what is convenient for the home-brewer, and are usually constituted by the bottles that will store and be used to serve the fermented liquor such as beer.
When brewing beer, the bottle of liquor is then charged with a measure of fermentable carbohydrate, and sealed. This begins a process of secondary fermentation which proceeds in the sealed bottle due to the remaining yeast (from the original fermentation) in the fermented liquor. The secondary fermentation is necessary to provide additional taste development and the characteristic carbonation of modern beer (as well as other liquors subject to this or similar processes). A major byproduct of this secondary fermentation is a quantity of yeast sediment. This is usually considered unacceptable by the consumers of modern beer, and must be eliminated before the beer can be properly enjoyed.
As a result of these conditions, there are a number of sediment collection devices used with beer (and other fermented beverages) bottles for collecting the undesired sediment (yeast or other materials). All apparently suffer from the same limitations. In particular, these devices are often very awkward to attach to standard bottles, and very often permit leakage in both directions. Many of these devices are arranged in a manner that inhibits the transfer of yeast from the bottle into the sediment collection device. As a result, the filtration or sediment collection process takes longer than desired. Very often, if the sediment cannot easily precipitate out of the bottle into a sediment collector, the clarity of the beverage is compromised. Consequently, ease of migration is crucial in home brewing, but is usually not found with conventional art devices.
Those few conventional devices that facilitate rapid sediment migration are often relatively complicated. This means that operation can be awkward, defeating some of the pleasure that a hobbyist involved in home brewing would derive from the process. Also, relatively complex sediment collection systems are more expensive, and have more parts. This is crucial in that complicated mechanical arrangements can be very expensive, limiting the number of bottles that can be involved. This limitation also decreases the pleasure that the hobbyist will take in home brewing.
A more crucial factor is that complex sediment collection devices are often very difficult to clean properly, so that the risk of infection is substantially increased. This adds a level of danger that, while exciting, is not desired by even the most adventurous hobbyist.
Accordingly, the conventional art of sediment collectors for home brewing systems admits to substantial improvement to overcome existing deficiencies. An improved sediment collection device would be more simple, safe and effective, while being easy for use in a home brewing process.